Republic scored the first 15 points of the game, eventually led by more than 20, and held off a Lamar flurry that was too little, too late, in a 57-45 victory at home Friday night.
Trent Rackley scored 23 points to lead Republic, and for the second straight game, he made five three-pointers.
The Tigers also welcomed Broc Smith back to the lineup after two weeks out with an ankle injury. Smith drained a three-pointer on his first shot of the night, and finished with eight points in his return. Coach Trevyor Fisher says he wasn’t sure what to expect out of Smith after the long layoff.
“He’s practiced the last two days. I thought he looked okay–not moving 100 percent yet, but I think it was good for him to get his feet wet back into game action, and hopefully that’ll help him…next week.”
Lamar managed just nine points in the first half, as Republic built a 26-9 lead. In the third quarter, Lamar made some adjustments to get going offensively.
“, we did a good job on the ball screen action, taking their driving angles away and keeping them in front of us,” says Fisher. “In the second half, they did a good job of combating that, getting some mismatches on switches, and were able to drive the ball.”
Lamar’s Ian Moore led all scorers with 26 points. He made three of Lamar’s five treys in the fourth quarter as they climbed out of a 20-point hole.
Republic improves to 12-4. Lamar falls to 8-8.
Individual Scoring
Trent Rackley 23, Tucker Thomas 10, Broc Smith 8, Hunter Creek 6, Dylan Brown 3, Cole Buxton 3, Race Looney 2, Drew McMillin 2